Early American Newspapers: Series 8, 1844-1922

(Updated July 2016)

Early American Newspapers, Series 8, features full runs through 1922 of important, long-running titles from diverse regions of the U.S.  Each is notable for its depth of 19th- and early 20th-century news coverage, as exemplified by the large number of pages in every issue.  Also in Series 8 are significant 19th-century titles offering wide-ranging coverage of the Antebellum Period, when debates over slavery were reaching their peak in the American press.  Together, the titles in Series 8 further expand the political, geographical and chronological depth of Early American Newspapers.  Titles include:

The Advocate and its predecessors (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

• Known as the "independent voice of South Louisiana,” The Advocate and its journalistic predecessors have been a vital force in Louisiana's capital city and surrounding communities for more than 140 years. These newspapers form a rich source about life along the Mississippi River from the Antebellum Period to the turn of the century. In 1846, after the state legislature moved the government from New Orleans, Baton Rouge began a phase of steady growth driven by steamboat trade and new transportation routes. First-hand reporting covers the occupation of the city by Union troops in 1862, the migration of freedmen from rural areas during Reconstruction, and the imposition of racial segregation on African Americans. In the early 20th century, the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway arrived, and local officials sought greater economic activity. New owners revitalized The Advocate, publishing this principle in a page-one editorial: "It is our intention to print a newspaper whose editorials are not for sale, and whose news items cannot be suppressed, a newspaper commensurate with hopes and plans of Baton Rouge."
• Includes 9,012 issues of The Daily Advocate published between 1854 and 1903; 4,043 issues of the State Times Advocate published between 1909 and 1922; 1,160 issues of the Daily State published between 1906 and 1910; and 687 issues of the Weekly Advocate published between 1845 and 1903.

American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, Maryland)

• The American and Commercial Daily Advertiser was one of the most successful and influential 19th-century newspapers in Baltimore, a city whose inhabitants included many Southerners as well as Northerners.  Researchers will benefit from its coverage of the pro-slavery and anti-slavery movements that dominated the news during this era.
• Includes 2,812 issues published between 1844 and 1853. Early American Newspapers, Series 7, includes 4,207 issues published between 1801 and 1820, and Series 12 includes 1,992 issues published between 1821 and 1845.

Boston Evening Transcript (Massachusetts)

• The Evening Transcript was one of Boston’s most influential newspapers during the Antebellum Period and the Civil War, featuring detailed coverage of literature and arts in addition to regional and national news. This run of the paper offers researchers an in-depth look at the anti-slavery movement in a city that was the center of it.
• Includes 2,963 issues published between 1857 and 1866. Early American Newspapers, Series 4, includes 4,470 issues published between 1842 and 1856.

Camden Democrat (New Jersey)

• One of New Jersey’s most outspoken and influential newspapers during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Camden Democrat offers a detailed chronicle of the debate over whether New Jersey should join the Confederacy, with which the state had strong economic ties. The paper gave both sides of this debate ample room for argument, and was itself undecided as late as April 13, 1861, when its editors wrote: “If you will adopt Com. Stockton’s line, of ‘the Hudson and the Lakes, rather than the Potomac and the Ohio,’ as the northern boundary of the Confederacy, then, indeed, our objection would be removed.” The Civil War and Reconstruction periods are also covered.
• Includes 804 issues published between 1860 and 1875.

The Cape Ann Advertiser (Gloucester, Massachusetts)

• Published in Gloucester, Massachusetts, one of New England’s oldest ship-building and fishing centers, the Cape Ann Advertiser chronicles the waning days of the whaling industry, the rise of the New England Temperance movement, the influx of European immigrants, and the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
• Includes 738 issues published between 1857 and 1877.

The Daily Union (Washington, D.C.)

• In 1845, newly elected President James K. Polk hired the famous editor of the Richmond Enquirer, Thomas Ritchie, to run his administration’s newly created “organ” in the capital, The Daily Union newspaper. This run of The Daily Union offers researchers an unparalleled example of political influence in the press, during a period when the issues of states’ rights and secession were reaching the climax that would lead to the Civil War.
• Includes 3,819 issues published between 1845 and 1857. Early American Newspapers, Series 10, includes 402 issues published between 1858 and 1859.

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (New York, N.Y.)

• Published by the illustrator Frank Leslie and his wife, the women’s suffrage campaigner Miriam Florence Leslie, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper was the nation’s most popular illustrated publication of its era. Containing detailed illustrations that often ran full page, this run of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper offers an unparalleled collection of graphic images related to the Civil War, as well as illustrated works of fiction by some of the most noted writers of the period.
• Includes 971 issues published between 1855 and 1876.

News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)

• One of the oldest daily newspapers in the South and the eighth oldest newspaper still in publication in the United States, Charleston’s Post and Courier traces its ancestry to the News and Courier. This run of the paper covers Charleston during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, the massive earthquake that struck the city in 1886, and the revival of the region in the early decades of the 20th century.
• Includes 19,875 issues published between 1873 and 1922.

Omaha World Herald (Nebraska)

• One of the most influential progressive newspapers in the Midwest, the Omaha World Herald chronicles the dramatic growth of the region in the early decades of the 20th century, and the racial and ethnic tensions that resulted. After the first chapter of the NAACP west of the Mississippi was founded in Omaha in 1912, the Omaha World Herald covered these tensions—culminating in the Red Summer Riots of 1919—in great detail. In 1920 the paper was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its editorials on racial strife in the Midwest.
• Includes 9,906 issues published between 1908 and 1922.

Riverside Press-Enterprise predecessors: Riverside Daily Press, Riverside Morning Press and Independent Enterprise (California)

• These predecessors of today’s Riverside Press-Enterprise chronicle the explosive growth of California during the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1893, Riverside, California, was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States, the result of a burgeoning citrus industry that would transform the region now known as the “Inland Empire.” The Press-Enterprise’s ancestor papers published detailed and often contrasting views on the issues and opportunities that were created by this transformation.
• Includes 11,354 issues of the Riverside Daily Press published between 1886 and 1922, and 10,014 issues of the Riverside Morning Press/Independent Enterprise published between 1891 and 1922.

Springfield Republican and Springfield Union (Massachusetts) 

• Known for its cultural leadership, national opinion-making and high literary quality, the Springfield Republican circulated widely throughout the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th century. Horace Greeley called it "the best and ablest country journal ever published on the continent."  The Springfield Union, another celebrated New England daily that later merged with the Republican, offers researchers a continuous run from the Civil War to World War I and the Russian Revolution.
• Includes 2,350 issues of the Springfield Union published between 1864 and 1916, and 7,783 issues of the Springfield Daily Republican published between 1911 and 1922. Early American Newspapers, Series 4, includes 11,742 issues of the Springfield Republican published between 1877 and 1910, and Series 5 includes 501 issues of the Springfield Republican published between 1861 and 1871.

Winston-Salem Journal (North Carolina)

• Founded in 1897, the Winston-Salem Journal was purchased in 1902 by A. F. W. Leslie, an artist and engraver, who turned it into North Carolina’s first illustrated newspaper.  A lively, controversial, and crusading newspaper, the Winston-Salem Journal soon grew to become one of the most influential newspapers in the state.
• Includes 5,262 issues published between 1898 and 1921.